Home - Day 7 - Comparitively Speaking

When I first decided that I wanted to try bike racing, I knew I was going to have to get a little more disciplined about my riding and training. I did a little reading and discovered some key elements: goals, structure, periodization and discipline.

First, I needed an ultimate goal, some race or training objective. I picked a local race called the "Gatineau Grand Prix" and decided that I would set next year's race as the objective. I looked up the results of the category I was going to race in and I picked the lap time I felt was achievable.

Second, I put a training plan together based on what I had read. That included nutrition, weight loss, weight training, on bike training, off bike training and mental preparation. The plan was roughly eight months long and required me to loose close to 15 lbs and gain a significant amount of fitness.

Because I had eight months the 3rd element of periodization was pretty easy. I started off with keeping a training log (diet, body weight, resting heart rate, training objective, results), getting regular workouts in the weight room and building base in the legs with long easy rides. As each month progressed, the plan changed and got harder. I started riding different patterns: intervals, isolated leg, sprints, etc. I started pushing more weight in the gym and more focus on the cycling muscles. I kept adjusting my diet to match the training requirements.

I have a small piece of paper in my study that has two words written: Focus and Discipline. I added a third, Integrity, a while ago, but the first two, I believe, are the lowest common denominator to achieving anything. For eight months I needed to be disciplined about training. I had a demanding job for a company that we were trying to get off the ground and it took everything I had to maintain focus and discipline on that personal goal I had set for myself.

Race day was approaching fast. The training was going well, but I still wasn't getting the lap times I wanted. I just couldn't seem to get up the hills fast enough. Relatively speaking I was doing great. I had never been as fit, nor had I ever felt as good, I simply needed to take 3 minutes off my current lap time to stay in the pack during the race. I rehearsed the race day a couple of times because I had never been to a race before and the day of the race I arrived well rested and as I ready as I could be. At the end of the race my lap times ended up being a little faster that my last training laps, but not enough to stay with the pack. It's funny I wasn't discouraged at all. I showed up to the race as prepared as I could be and I did the best I could. In that race and the process leading up to it I discovered something I really liked doing (cycling) and I discovered just how hard competitive cycling is.

Today I sit in front of a different plan. This one is about healing a valve that has been fixed, two arteries that have been repaired, two lungs that were completely deflated and partially inflated and a split chest bone. Funny though, the principles and tools that have been laid out by the OHI are identical to those I used to prepare for the race. Goal: Heal (get back to work and back on the bike). Structure: Log (sleep, weight, temperature, exercise record, medication, food intake) Rest, heart healthy diet, exercise program, walking program, medications and follow-up visits. Periodization: We started with 2-10 minute walks and exercises consisting of 10 calf raises while holding on to a chair. Discipline: knowing that the OHI has done this before and at 37 there is still a whole lot more living to do. Maybe even a bike race.

Today was a good day. I slept well. M. bought me this body pillow that allows me to sleep on my side without collapsing my shoulders. The ability to make small shifts during the night alleviates quite a bit of the back pain. My mom continues to beat me at crib--today my ass was handed to me three times. It wouldn't be so bad if she wasn't trash-talking the whole time. We had two great walks with the sun shining and snow melting.